Given he'll be in charge of an energy regulator that would have the power to impose a price freeze, don't you think it's likely he'd take some action against such a transparent hike if it did happen?

 

As it goes I think it's a double edged sword of an announcement that's either won the next election for him or condemned him to inevitable defeat, depending on how the Tories respond to it. But in any case - it's pretty canny on his part, given after three years of making him out to be useless the Tories can't convincingly now accuse him of being the dangerous Marx of Muswell Hill.

 

It has certainly made the cost of living a highly talked about thing again, and pushed it high up the agenda, Osbourne has kind of fought back by freezing fuel duty for 2 years

So why would people who hate Clegg because they think he's a Tory vote Tory? The words utterly deluded spring to mind.

 

Banged to rights on that one ;) long day

I think you'll find Iain Duncan Smith disagrees. If the parents are in social housing and in receipt of housing benefit, it is assumed that a child in their early 20s will have left home. As ever with this government, there is no coherency to their policies at all.

 

As for making people on Jobseekers' allowance work, support will start to fall when people find out that it's their job that these people will be doing. If somebody is doing a full-time job then they should be paid the rate for the job. What part of that do you think is unfair?

 

I support the idea of workfare

 

Not out of some sort of desire for punishment of those that are out of work a long time but out of support of the need to give them a work ethic again and a sense of routine

 

It is easy imho to lose motivation if not getting up early to go to work and doing a shift, apathy and lethargy can set in, motivation hits rock bottom, the sense of routine and the sense of pride is lost and an ever increasing gap in the CV makes it even more likely they have nothing to offer employers

 

Doing full time community work will give them a work ethic, get them waking up at 7am again to report for a shift at 9am, gives them something to show on their cv, gives them social interaction, win win situation for those that are out of work

Edited October 5, 201311 yr by Sandro Ranieri

UKIP will pick up a % of tory dinosaurs (the racist and homophobic element who are still living in the 1970's) from the very far right and a few centrists who think Farage is a bit of an alright bloke

 

I would be surprised if they win a single seat in 2015

 

I'd bet the house that we bought in March that they don't win a single seat.

I support the idea of workfare

 

Not out of some sort of desire for punishment of those that are out of work a long time but out of support of the need to give them a work ethic again and a sense of routine

 

It is easy imho to lose motivation if not getting up early to go to work and doing a shift, apathy and lethargy can set in, motivation hits rock bottom, the sense of routine and the sense of pride is lost and an ever increasing gap in the CV makes it even more likely they have nothing to offer employers

 

Doing full time community work will give them a work ethic, get them waking up at 7am again to report for a shift at 9am, gives them something to show on their cv, gives them social interaction, win win situation for those that are out of work

 

 

All you say is correct but they should be paid at least the minimum wage though and not just work for their benefits. I foresee some court challenges if this policy ever comes in. I doubt it will though.

Edited October 5, 201311 yr by Common Sense

I support the idea of workfare

 

Not out of some sort of desire for punishment of those that are out of work a long time but out of support of the need to give them a work ethic again and a sense of routine

 

It is easy imho to lose motivation if not getting up early to go to work and doing a shift, apathy and lethargy can set in, motivation hits rock bottom, the sense of routine and the sense of pride is lost and an ever increasing gap in the CV makes it even more likely they have nothing to offer employers

 

Doing full time community work will give them a work ethic, get them waking up at 7am again to report for a shift at 9am, gives them something to show on their cv, gives them social interaction, win win situation for those that are out of work

But what work will they be doing? And if it is work currently being done by somebody else, what happens to them? It's just another attempt by that former PR man to grab a few headlines.

I feel it's time to post this (again, possibly)

 

http://newsthump.com/2013/09/30/no-one-sho...ng-for-nothing/

But what work will they be doing? And if it is work currently being done by somebody else, what happens to them? It's just another attempt by that former PR man to grab a few headlines.

 

There is plenty they could do

 

I do think it is wrong to send people to Tesco and Poundland etc as that is taking work away from existing workers but some of the following are what i would say are fair game

 

1) Working in charity shops

 

2) Snow clearing in their streets and surrounding streets, making the paths safe and clearing the drives of people especially the elderly

 

3) Filling potholes, yes people are already doing that but the existing workforce cant keep up with the number of potholes that need filling in winter

 

4) Doing shopping, gardening and other duties for elderly people, no one with a criminal record would do this obviously

 

5) Clearing graffiti and litter, again like potholes people are paid to do it but cant keep up with amount that needs doing

 

The above 5 are for people who can read and write to an acceptable standard.

 

I would also have compulsary full time education for long term unemployed who have literacy and numeracy problems to get them to a standard acceptable level where they are fit to work, likewise with immigrants claiming JSA should have compulsary English classes full time to learn English

Edited October 6, 201311 yr by Sandro Ranieri

All you say is correct but they should be paid at least the minimum wage though and not just work for their benefits. I foresee some court challenges if this policy ever comes in. I doubt it will though.

 

They have got 104 weeks worth of £71 a week for no work (over £7k) so that is the equivalent of 1000+ hours at minimum wage already so needs factoring in

 

 

£71/wk? Jog on Craig, it's £56 at most and I spent months on JSA at £51/week.

£71/wk? Jog on Craig, it's £56 at most and I spent months on JSA at £51/week.

 

The adult rate, think it is over 21 or 23 or something, is £71 a week which is what i was basing it on

 

I suspect most of the long term unemployed (2 years plus) which are the only ones workfare applies to, will be on the £71 a week adult rate

Over 25, because us 24 year olds aren't really adults so don't need the extra £15 a week....

They have got 104 weeks worth of £71 a week for no work (over £7k) so that is the equivalent of 1000+ hours at minimum wage already so needs factoring in

This is pretty dire logic. Two years of 3.5k a year isn't the minimum wage, regardless of whether it equates to 'thousands of hours' paid at the minimum wage. The minimum wage is a set payment for a set hour - it doesn't matter if it equates to loads of hours at minimum wage.

 

I don't mind the concept of workfare so long as it's paid to a decent standard - the point of the minimum wage being introduced was to ensure that anybody who was giving their time to anybody was at least getting a basic living standard out of it. Why not just have it done with and bring back the workhouse by this logic?

This is pretty dire logic. Two years of 3.5k a year isn't the minimum wage, regardless of whether it equates to 'thousands of hours' paid at the minimum wage. The minimum wage is a set payment for a set hour - it doesn't matter if it equates to loads of hours at minimum wage.

 

I don't mind the concept of workfare so long as it's paid to a decent standard - the point of the minimum wage being introduced was to ensure that anybody who was giving their time to anybody was at least getting a basic living standard out of it. Why not just have it done with and bring back the workhouse by this logic?

 

I think 2 years is a very reasonable time to find a job, if someone has not got one in that time it is obvious they need to make themselves employable as employers are turning them down again and again

 

Either they are applying for the wrong type of jobs, lack experience of work, have some difficulties like numeracy or literacy or aren't trying hard enough for jobs.

 

Doing a few months of community work will show employers that they are employable and are not wasters, it will give some experience for those that lack experience, it will give something to put on the cv, it will give them a work ethic.

 

Yes they are not getting paid above their JSA but interns who join a company to gain some experience aren't being paid at all or are being paid very little, they are working for a business to gain experience yet i never read about 'slave labour' applying to interns

I'd say complaints about unpaid internships are pretty common. In any case, there's a difference between the two - unpaid internships are typically voluntary. Being forced to work for £71 a week would not be.

You'll find that there are a lot of people overqualified for the jobs available and like myself applied to a significant number of jobs. I heard back from maybe 1% of the jobs I applied to when I was unemployed, if that.

I'd say complaints about unpaid internships are pretty common. In any case, there's a difference between the two - unpaid internships are typically voluntary. Being forced to work for £71 a week would not be.

 

Schemes like this are nothing new though

 

Maggie had YTS which involved working full time for 3 months for a company for no extra money than the 20 odd quid a week it was then

 

Blair had New Deal which involved work placements for several weeks, you got an extra £15 on top of benefits I remember a friend who was on New Deal at the time said but even benefits plus £15 a week is waaaaay short of minimum wage, he also said that on New Deal you had to attend a centre full time every day where you were on the computers applying for jobs all the time

 

I don't recall any protests and 'boycott new deal' websites and people claiming new deal was a breach of their 'uman rights

 

Blair brings in New Deal - months of work experience plus attending a centre full time yet no fuss

 

Cameron brings in workfare plus daily attendance of job centre and it is 'evil tories trying to bring back the workhouse'

 

Unreal

You'll find that there are a lot of people overqualified for the jobs available and like myself applied to a significant number of jobs. I heard back from maybe 1% of the jobs I applied to when I was unemployed, if that.

 

Problem is thanks to labour social engineering there are too many graduates now, many of them with degrees that are looked down on by employers (not yours, stuff like media studies and sociology and history of art) all chasing the same jobs plus the most important factor these days is experience

 

10-15 years ago a cv with a degree on it really made employers eyes open but now everyone has a degree and a degree just doesn't stand out any more

 

Instead of 50%+ leaving school and going to uni it should be the elite 5-10% like it used to be so that a degree certificate means something again to employers

Edited October 9, 201311 yr by Sandro Ranieri

Problem is thanks to labour social engineering there are too many graduates now, many of them with degrees that are looked down on by employers (not yours, stuff like media studies and sociology and history of art) all chasing the same jobs plus the most important factor these days is experience

 

10-15 years ago a cv with a degree on it really made employers eyes open but now everyone has a degree and a degree just doesn't stand out any more

 

Instead of 50%+ leaving school and going to uni it should be the elite 5-10% like it used to be so that a degree certificate means something again to employers

Except now, purely because a degree is never enough people are expected to do so much more at university in order to stand a chance. Deliberately or not, expanding universities has incentivised innovative ideas and extracurricular activity.

There is plenty they could do

 

I do think it is wrong to send people to Tesco and Poundland etc as that is taking work away from existing workers but some of the following are what i would say are fair game

 

1) Working in charity shops

 

2) Snow clearing in their streets and surrounding streets, making the paths safe and clearing the drives of people especially the elderly

 

3) Filling potholes, yes people are already doing that but the existing workforce cant keep up with the number of potholes that need filling in winter

 

4) Doing shopping, gardening and other duties for elderly people, no one with a criminal record would do this obviously

 

5) Clearing graffiti and litter, again like potholes people are paid to do it but cant keep up with amount that needs doing

 

The above 5 are for people who can read and write to an acceptable standard.

 

I would also have compulsary full time education for long term unemployed who have literacy and numeracy problems to get them to a standard acceptable level where they are fit to work, likewise with immigrants claiming JSA should have compulsary English classes full time to learn English

 

 

When I was unemployed for 2 years I did voluntary work in youth clubs, thats the sort of stuff that should be pushed, and I agree about helping the elderly, they are mostly dependant on family or neighbourly goodwill - and often thats not there.

 

The rest is impractical. Or as you say, taking away real jobs. I say if the country isnt willing to contribute more taxes to pay for litter collection and filling potholes (which is a skilled job, using specialist equipment, not something you can just turn up and do) then they shouldnt expect unlucky people to do it for less than the going rate. Ditto Tesco & co using free labour on unskilled work, that's immoral and a taxpayer freebie to massively rich companies. Now if they want to train up in management roles and train unemployed to use computer software, deal with customers that's an entirely different situation as people getting that training will very much have something useful to put on a CV. Stacking shelves isn't in any way useful for anything except keeping people involved who would otherwise be stuck at home, and who have limited opportunities jobwise due to personal issues and problems. Some supermarkets place these cases and get the pay paid for by the government, so that's acceptable.